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Bebas obtained permission from the convoy commodore to pursue the target and went to general quarters. The quarry soon disappeared, only to be picked up on sonar--a definite submarine. Reducing speed to carry out a deliberate attack, Bebas stalked the submarine. Soon after her first "hedgehog" attack failed, she followed up with a second and heard one sharp and two muffled detonations soon thereafter. A third "hedgehog" pattern yielded negative results.

Bebas obtained permission from the convoy commodore to pursue the target and went to general quarters. The quarry soon disappeared, only to be picked up on sonar—a definite submarine. Reducing speed to carry out a deliberate attack, Bebas stalked the submarine. Soon after her first "hedgehog" attack failed, she followed up with a second and heard one sharp and two muffled detonations soon thereafter. A third "hedgehog" pattern yielded negative results.

An hour later, wood fragments, varying in length from two to ten feet, found on the water near the attack location prompted Bebas to carry out a box search through the night; and, the following morning, four other destroyer escorts and an Eniwetok-based PBM Martin "Mariner" patrol bomber joined the search. Between 0800 and 1525, they searched over 600 square miles of ocean. Late in the search, the PBM sent them to a concentrated oil slick about four miles from the site of the "hedgehog" attack on the previous night. Bebas took samples of the slick--heavy sludge or a mixture of lubricating oil and fuel oil--as well as a piece of wood. That afternoon, the four destroyer escorts parted company with Bebas, but Bond (AM-152) joined her to continue the hunt. Further investigations yielded no additional evidence, and the search was terminated at noon on 6 February. Postwar accounting indicated no Japanese submarine losses that day, so the identity of Bebas' target remains a mystery.

An hour later, wood fragments, varying in length from two to ten feet, found on the water near the attack location prompted Bebas to carry out a box search through the night; and, the following morning, four other destroyer escorts and an Eniwetok-based PBM Martin "Mariner" patrol bomber joined the search. Between 0800 and 1525, they searched over 600 square miles of ocean. Late in the search, the PBM sent them to a concentrated oil slick about four miles from the site of the "hedgehog" attack on the previous night. Bebas took samples of the slick—heavy sludge or a mixture of lubricating oil and fuel oil—as well as a piece of wood. That afternoon, the four destroyer escorts parted company with Bebas, but Bond (AM-152) joined her to continue the hunt. Further investigations yielded no additional evidence, and the search was terminated at noon on 6 February. Postwar accounting indicated no Japanese submarine losses that day, so the identity of Bebas' target remains a mystery.

Bebas (DE-10) was awarded three battle stars for her World War II service.<ref>Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/b4-list.htm]</ref>

Bebas (DE-10) was awarded three battle stars for her World War II service.<ref>[http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/b4-list.htm Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships]</ref>

==References==

==References==